Harley Revs Up While Other Bike Makers Take Rough Ride

Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

With more recreational merchandise competing for attention in the marketplace, Americans have shifted away from buying motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

Sales of motorcycles, scooters and all-terrain vehicles have plunged almost 50 percent since 1984.

''The fact is that the 18-to-25 age group has decreased and is the smallest it has been since 1962. Also, there are more items like expensive stereo and video systems competing for disposable income,'' said Beverly St. Clair, communications director for the Motorcycle Industry Council.

In 1984, motorcycle, scooter and all-terrain vehicle sales peaked at 1.3 million. In 1988, only 710,000 of the vehicles were sold. Because the Big Four Japanese makers - Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki - own much of the market, they have borne most of the losses. But not all motorcycle makers had a rough ride in the last half of the '80s.

Harley-Davidson, the last American motorcycle manufacturer, not only registered sales gains but asked the government to remove import restrictions on foreign bikes before they were due to expire.

Harley sales bottomed out in 1983 at 27,031 and have been rising ever since. In 1988, the Wisconsin company sold 38,432 bikes. Harley has been the only company to increase sales and profits in a shrinking marketplace, according to industry officials.

''We have a consistency in our product. We don't make radical changes from year to year by going from sport bikes to scooters. We also have a very stable customer base and a very close relationship with our customers,'' said Steve Piehl of Harley's marketing department.

That close relationship often means Harley's highest corporate officers spend summers biking from one motorcycle event to another, listening to what Harley riders want on future models.

''We've also brought more people into the market. Our sales to women have increased drastically over the last few years,'' Piehl said.

St. Clair said the council believes a turnaround in motorcycle sales could happen as early as 1992. In fact, it thinks the first seeds of a rebound already have been sown. ''We are seeing a renewed interest in entry-level bikes. Also, motorcycling is very fashionable right now. There's also an increase of older buyers. A 50-year-old man, for example, might purchase a touring bike, put his wife on the back and go on a venture with his buddies,'' she said.

BMW, which occupies the upper end of the motorcycle market, ended the decade about the same way it started. BMW sold about 2,700 bikes in 1980, saw its sales peak at about 6,000 in 1986 and has suffered a decline each year since. BMW's Rob Mitchell said the company has sold about 3,000 bikes this year.

Several new models have been added to the 1990 lineup, and BMW has repriced and repositioned its bikes to take advantage of older customers who may re-enter the market. Mitchell also says he believes the industry is due for a rebound, but that it isn't likely ever to be as strong as it was in the late '70s and early '80s.

So how will the 1980s be remembered? St. Clair says that most manufacturers were forced to re-evaluate their products and intensify their marketing strategies because consumer interest in bikes has varied, meaning that manufacturers are building all sorts of specialized bikes instead of just off-road or street machines.